The Bachelor's Bride

Chapter 12-Jack

I got home that night to a lovely sight. Etta and Elliot were both sleeping on the sofa. A book was open next to Etta, her hand still marking the page. I began to tug it away but Etta suddenly woke up, shaking her head.

I smirked, "You've been sleeping."

She swatted my hand away and got up, careful not to wake Elliot. She awkwardly scratched something down on the notepad, trying not to jostle the sleeping tyke around as she did so.

What time is it?

I checked my pocket watch, "A quarter after seven."

Etta's eyes grew wide and she handed Elliot off to me. She ran to the kitchen and began pulling things out, obviously trying to start dinner. I went up to her, "Etta it's okay, you don't have to do this."

She shook her head and wrote, I shouldn't have been sleeping. Dinner should've already been ready.

I noticed there were tears staining her cheeks now, and realized this was about something else. She was trying to prove to herself that she could still do everything. Being in that fire had torn her apart physically and emotionally. She was pushing herself too hard.

I gently rested my hand on her arm, stilling her frantic movements. I didn't speak until she met my gaze.

"Etta, it's okay. We can go out to that new restaurant down the street for dinner." I said.

Are you sure? Her gaze seemed to ask.

I brushed away her tears, "Come on. It'll be fun to get out."

But Elliot...

"Annie will be here soon to pick him up. Why don't you get changed? I'll handle him until she gets here." I reassured her.

She sighed, a small smile reaching her lips.

Okay.

After Annie had come to take Elliot home, I walked Etta down to the restaurant and we took a seat by a window. I ordered us some sweet tea to go with our dinner tonight. I leaned forward.

"You look beautiful, Etta." I ran my eyes up and down her figure.

She had on a bright blue dress that had little white flowers embroidered along the edges. She was also wearing the necklace I had gotten her for Christmas. The thought warmed my heart.

She blushed slightly and nodded her thanks.  When our food was finally served, we ate in silence. It was a comfortable silence. For once, we were enjoying each other's company without arguing or yelling. It was a nice change.

"Etta, I meant to ask you. What happened the day of the fire?" I asked timidly. "You don't have to talk about it. But...it seems odd to me that they never found what started it. Fires don't just come out of no where."

Etta looked down at her lap, trying to think. Her brown eyes snapped up to me. She remembered something. She sickly scribbled something down.

Actually, it was the strangest thing. When we tried to get out, all of the door jobs were locked.

"Locked?" I asked. "And why would they be locked? Is that typical?"

No, the doors are always left open. I think someone was trying to keep us from escaping.

I rubbed my face. Someone had been deliberately tying to kill all of those women and girls? I looked at the distress on Etta's face, knowing she was thinking the same thing. What kind of person would do that?

"Then, how did you get out?" I asked curiously. "If you could only escape by using the stairs or jumping?"

I remembered seeing a roof access in the room. We jumped across the roofs to the other building. I don't remember anything else.

I reached for her hand and rubbed it reassuringly, "I'm sorry, Etta. I didn't mean to bring it up."

It's okay.

She smiled at me.

.......................................................
As soon as I got to work the next day, I walked up to my boss, "Sir, I really want that story about the factory fire at South 21 Street."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because, I think it may not have been an accident." I explained.

"Oh?" he said, not looking interested in the slightest.

"My wife was in that fire, and I had been talking to her about it. She had mentioned that all the doors were locked. Now, doesn't that sound unusual?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He shrugged, "Or maybe the door was just stuck."

"Couldn't I have at least the chance to disprove that theory?" I practically begged him. "I don't have anything better right now."

"Fine, but I don't want the police to come breathing down my neck because you're being an idiot, Muller." he said gruffly.

"I won't cause any trouble, sir." I nodded my thanks.

I was actually excited about this story. It was fresh and new and I had plenty of witnesses and victims that I could question. And I was hoping that if I proved myself to be resourceful, maybe Mr. Larson would consider giving me a promotion. It was something to think about.

Copyright © 2017 by Rosanna Parker
All Rights Reserved
Hey Wattpadders! Here is another chapter for you to enjoy! I got stuck on the plot for a while but I am thinking I want this to turn into sort of a Mystery/Romance/Historical Fic kinda thing.

Vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter!

Love y'all and thanks for all the support! *MWAH*
-Rosanna